I grew up as asphalt became an innovation , people were in the thrall of this new slick black surface.Cities embraced it .. I recall seeing trees manacled in islands of it. I grew up in NZ conscious of the number of native trees chopped down to enable pine forests.I spent years in Central Australia seeing the beautiful ghost gums stark against the ochre landscape ..the river gums ..Palm Valley the remnants of cycads remained , a glimpse of past greeness.I remember hitching hiking into Adelaide after Ash Wednesday and weeping at the blackened stumps…I love walking the tree lined streets , meandering thru Hazelwood Park and sharing the trees with grandchildren. Running thru the gumtrees in the early morning , feeling life rising thru the leaves and bark..more recently being involved in the Burnside Foresters has made me aware of the centrality trees should have in our lives and our children and their children …as the need for shade and succour portends the heat of the summers to come..
~Garry, 67. Maslin Beach, SA
